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Reflecting on the Past and Our Collective Strength & Influence as IRT Alumni

Mayra Canizales Cruz, IRT ’07

It may be hard to believe that in just 3 months we will welcome 2022. For many educators, 2020 was the year that flipped our lives upside down and forced us to (re)discover elements of ourselves as people, family members, teachers, and leaders. We tended to others before tending to ourselves and had little to no opportunity to stop and reflect about all that we had learned and unlearned in the months of a global health pandemic and the racial justice movement of our lifetime.

A year ago, I was a 7-year veteran principal in the nation’s capital and was launching the first-ever virtual school year. It was both exciting and unnerving and I struggled to find my new leadership voice in a virtual setting. My superpower was leading with love, justice, and vulnerability- everything else felt like a test or like I was functioning off gut instinct. Throughout the months, we heard scholars, organic intellectuals, elders, parents, and students alike say the same thing, “We can’t go back to what was normal. Normal wasn’t working for our Black and Brown children.” Families were officially seen and acknowledged as co-educators and the school and family partnerships were stronger than ever. We finally saw a light that felt bright enough to follow, one that would lead us to deconstruct, reimagine and rebuild a new (a better) educational system for our children. This was the chance and for a large part, it was not taken.

Liberation and Curation : A Perspective from Leslie Condon, IRT ’21

Besides her academic pursuits in the art history field, Leslie Condon, IRT ’21 (artist name Leslie Anne Condon) is a Boston-area visual artist and independent curator. Her upcoming curatorial projects include Collective Liberation, which Leslie curated as the Hopkinton Center for the Art’s Inaugural Kris Waldman Curator-in-Residence, on view from September 30 to November 11, 2021.

Alumni Accolades, November 2021

~1998 Cohort~

Reginald Wilburn, IRT ’98
Congratulations to Reginald who has been appointed Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Texas Christian University. Wilburn earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in English from the University of Connecticut, and his B.A. in English from the University of the District of Columbia.

~2001 Cohort~

Brighid Dwyer, IRT ’01
Brighid was named Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania beginning in December. Congratulations to Brighid on this appointment. She received her undergraduate degree in sociology from UCLA and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

~2005 Cohort~

Monica Muñoz Martinez, IRT ’05
Monica was named a 2021 MacArthur Fellow. The MacArthur Fellowship is unrestricted and unofficially known as the “Genius Grant.” The MacArthur Foundation considers that the fellowship “is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential.” Congratulations, Monica, on this prestigious award.

IRT Alumni Committee Inaugural Members

Renée Wilmot and LaShawnda Brooks are excited to announce the inaugural members of the IRT Alumni Committee.

Karina Fernandez (she/her)
Roles: Curriculum & Summer Workshop Consultant, Events Manager
IRT Class of 2006

Helen Gong (she/her)
Role: 2020 Cohort Representative
IRT Class of 2020

IRT External SOP Advisor Opportunity

Deadline to apply is Monday, July 5, 2021

Overview

The statement of purpose (SOP) is a significant component of any graduate school application. For IRT Scholars, who apply to upwards of seven graduate programs, writing and refining 7+ school-specific statements of purpose is a demanding process. Each year, the IRT provides the opportunity to a group of External (i.e. outside of the IRT office) SOP Advisors to assist current students in drafting, revising, and finalizing all of their SOPs, in addition to providing support on other written application materials such as the writing sample, resume/CV, personal history statement, diversity essay, and so on. External SOP Advisors are often IRT alumni, but also come from the Phillips Academy faculty pool and other partner organizations. External SOP Advisors work closely with IRT Scholars through the Fall SOP Advising period, which spans 8 weeks in September and October, hold weekly meetings with their advisees, review SOP drafts uploaded to Canvas on a weekly basis, and provide support for finalizing other written application materials.

IRT seeks External SOP Advisors from a variety of graduate disciplines and professional fields, but we especially welcome applications from folks with expertise in African Diaspora and African American Studies, Anthropology, Education, Philosophy, Political Science, and Psychology.